Urgent Care :: Baby RES impacted?

[ammundy]

Last night my husband found a Baby RES. Actually he was trimming along the fence (recently fenced in area - stream about 50 feet from new fence line)and saw it flying.....he didn't appear to have been hit - no marks, etc. It is about the size of a quarter. We are both teachers and have turtles in our classroom and at home. "Kurtis" was immediately assumed into the family by our 3 year old but not so much by the other two RES's who immediately grabbed him and drug him to the bottom of the tank when we put him in! I brought him to school with me this morning and quickly set up a 10-gal tank but the concern is this......he isn't his back legs. They appear to be fine and if one is sticking out a bit and I extend it slightly he will pull it back but he does not use them when he is swimming or when he wishes to get out of the water. This proved to be a problem when I set up the tank so I have just used large gravel sloping into the water so that he can get out of it easily - but it is too big for him to eat. He has not eaten yet ( we have only had him about 12 hours though). Could he be impacted? He was obviously born within the privacy fence so I know that he hasn't been in the water and question what he has eaten ( and how he himself wasn't eaten - we have 5 dogs!).

Suggestions on care for this guy?

Note- We have no problem having a special needs turtle if his quality of life is there but I also have no problem putting him down if he will suffer.

[jenaero]

There's really no reason for him to eat yet. He'll need time (maybe a week) to get settled in to his new home, but offer food daily anyway. Just fish out anything that doesn't get eaten.

I assume you know the basics, if not, check out the basic care section on this site to make sure your temps and setup are correct.

I assume he may have injured his legs either when the mower sent him airborne, or when your turtles attacked him. Keep a close eye on him. They may just be sore for a day or two.

[ammundy]

Thanks!

Next question then. I read once that with the babies that you shouldn't make the water too deep.....BUT how do I heat/filter water that is only an inch deep? I do not have a heater that can be completely submerged (or small enough for a 10 gal tank) available until I can get one this weekend so a regualr one is rigged on it's side with the top out of the water.......and I don't think that my fluval 1 would work in that shallow of water.

BUT I am also concerned about him drowning because he can't use his back legs at this point - so I really like the idea of the sloped gravel so that he can pull himself out if he wants too.....

[jenaero]

Fill that tank up as much as possible without giving him room to climb out to 'freedom'. If you're concerned about him not being able to surface, keep the water level low, but higher than an inch. Make sure there are plants and other things just below the surface for him to rest on if he needs to.

How well is he swimming? If he's getting around ok I'd say fill the tank half full. You should also have some kind of basking platform so you don't have to pile rocks up. It takes away much needed swimming space and makes it so much more difficult to clean with all those rocks in there.

[kiwigerman]

I've never had a baby turtle (got George at 4yrs) but the thought that they need shallow water seems strange to me. Surely turtles are natural swimmers, and as long as there is somewhere they can climb up onto there is no problem concerning depth.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Turtles, baby or adult..need deep water. Like jenaero said, fill that tank all the way up! Of course, without allowing him to climb out..

[ammundy]

Okay....

I didn't do it with any of our other babies but did some major research this morning since I am so concerned with this guy and want to try to do everything right to give him the best chances....

His tank is now 1/2 full with one place to completely get out of the water and another where he could be partially submerged ( legs only - most of shell out of the water).

From http://turtlecare.net/babycare.htm

"Housing: Baby turtles should be kept in shallow water ( at least as deep as their shell is wide but not deeper than that they can reach the surface comfortably). The water must be heated. A basking spot must be provided. It should be set up so that the turtle can get out easily "

Did I just misinterpret this?

Here is another question - man I am happy to have found this forum!!!

This sheet also reads " The water should be 85F, and the basking spot should be 85F too. " but I thought that the basking spot should be warmer to encourage basking.

*note - he swims okay with the front two legs - just looks a bit silly. He also seems alert and moves/swims around some. Instead of a platform I put in a rock from another aquarium with a rough (not jagged- more like a sandpaper feel) surface so that he could get hold of it with his little claws to haul himself out. When he used a floating plastic one, he didn't seem to be able to get enough of a grip on it......and if he gets flipped over he can't flip himself back over

Thanks again for all the help you guys are offering!

[jenaero]

That statement about shallow water is just not accurate. That is of course, referring to a healthy, perfectly mobile turtle. You might want to just fill the tank gradually and observe how he handles it.

For a baby, the water should be 78-80 (no higher) and the basking spot should be 10 degrees warmer.

[DavidY]

I would not recommend making the water too deep for now, especially until his rear legs are back to normal. You don't want to stress him out more by making him overexert himself trying to swim too much. In general babies are usually good swimmers right off the bat, but they still need an area that is shallow for them to rest. This can be some plastic plants that come up to about an inch or two below the water's surface, a rock, or a sloping ramp to the basking platform.

The 85 degree temperature seems much too warm. Check the water temperature of the stream you have nearby. I doubt it's that warm at all. 80 degrees is a recommended water temperature for a sick turtle since it will help boost their immune system, but if kept at that temperature for long term, it will encourage too rapid a growth rate which may not be healthy. The basking spot should definitely be about 10 degrees warmer than the water to encourage the turtle to come out and bask. The basking temp should be more like 88 to 90 degrees.

There are a lot of different sites out there with varying degrees of difference in their recommended guidelines for proper RES care. Some are better than others, but many just offer a different method that has worked for them. The key is to find what works best for you and your turtles and make adjustments as necessary if your turtles don't respond positively to their setup.

Personally, I've found the information on this site to be the most accurate and in line with basic common sense. I also think that we should try to replicate their natural environment as much as possible. Since the natural habitat of the RES covers a fairly large area of the US, we have some flexibility here. But the babies are the ones that need the closest attention to make sure everything is just right.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Yeah..that care sheet is wrong.. 85 is too warm, even for a sick turtle. All it will do is cause excessive shedding and fast growth (if im correct). 78 is a good water temperature for a baby turtle. Also, the basking area should be in the high 80's to low 90's. And like I said, RES love deep water. In the wild, even the babys swim large lakes that are probably a couple of feet deep.

[marisa]

I have to agree with keeping him in shallow water, especially if he's so small and there appears to be something wrong with his hind legs. Just keep it deep enough so that if for some reason he tips over he can right himself without his shell touching the bottom. I've had really small hatchlings (literally out of the nest), and they were kept in shallow water with a very gradual increase over time.

With shallow water in a small tank, don't worry about a filter yet. You're going to have to change the water frequently---about every 2-3 days, though. If the weather where you are is warm where, shallow water in a small tank probably won't be too cool, and a heat light over the basking area will also keep it a little warmer (at least during the day). Check the water temp with an aquarium thermometer just to be sure of the temp. 85F is definitely too warm for the water, try to keep it in the high 70's. If he'll bask with the temp at 85F, that's OK (little ones are more sensitive to heat, if not, up the temp a few degrees. For a basking area, if you use a rock, try to find a flat one---it shouldn't have to be large if he's so small, but it shouldn't be wobbly. If you can get a two flat stones, one a little lower than the actual basking rock, he'd have a step to help him pull himself on the basking area.

What are you feeding him? Try live food---dig up an earthworm and cut it into pieces for starters.

[ravanger]

I seem to disagree with the fact that baby RES "love" deep water. It seems by facts that they love the shallower part of the lake because that's where the smaller fish are... also this would explain the reason babies need warmer water because the shallower part of the lake is warmer.
But then again filling a 10 gallon tank as far as you can allowing an area to bask would simulate a shallower part of a lake...

Also filling a tank up more means cleaner water so if your baby can swim I'd fill it up as much as you can for more swimming area since a 10 gallon isn't that long. However if you can't I'd have the tank full enough to have the baby be able to jump into the water without crashing hard on to the bottom of the tank, be able to keep the temperature at a constant temp, and have the water be clean.
Just my opinion on the matter...

[steve]

That info looks like it is geared for recently hatched turtles. I agree that is should be shallow for newly hatched, and it would be up to your judgement as to when they can have deeper water... which shouldn't be long. I think that is why resting and basking areas are very important to younger RES as well.

Ammundy, I would also check the area for more hatchlings... there could be a few more.

[ammundy]

Good morning.

I came in to school this morning and "Kurtis" is still alive! He was resting the on the rock that keeps him just slightly in the water. His back legs were also out just a bit. The water temp was a bit high so I lowered it and put in 3 more pellets of turtle food ( I left his veggies sitting on the steps at home! ) He climbed into the water but pulled in his back legs and swam without them again - but this time his tail was out behind him.

He has also just floated a few times and he seems to either pull all of his limbs in or when he relaxes, the back legs hang out just a bit....

I am much more hopeful than I was yesterday!

And I walked the yard last night looking for siblings and didn't see any. I planned on having my husband show me exactly where he found him and search the area again tonight. He can't be more than a week or two old - he really is about the size of a quarter but isn't it also possible that he could have been born anywhere in the yard and migrated within the last week or so?

Where do they nest? When do they start out on their own? What things should I be looking for as far as a sign of a nest in the yard? We do have a sandbox that sits towards the bottom of the hill that is our yard so it still moist there.....

Really! Thanks again! This has been SO helpful!

[DavidY]

Wow, that's really great news! Don't worry about the veggies, he may not be too interested in those for a little while. Babies need more protien at this point anyway. It's likely that his siblings have scattered by now or are trying to find their way down to the water. You may want to look down by the sand box in the wetter areas of your yard. If they didn't hatch from there they may head down that way anyways in search of water. Do you have any pictures of your new rescue?